1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surgical devices and in particular to drill guides as are used in arthroscopic surgical procedures for knee reconstruction involving forming tibial and femoral tunnels that intersect the ligament points of origin in the knee joint, the invention for drilling holes through the distal femur and proximal tibia to intersect points along which tibial and femoral tunnels.
2. Prior Art
The invention, like a number of earlier drill guides of one or both of the inventors, is for use in an anterior or posterior cruciate ligament repair and/or replacement surgical procedure where tibial and femoral tunnel sections are formed in the distal femur and proximal tibia to pass through the ligament points of origin. With the knee bent appropriately, the tibial and femoral tunnel sections are straight and are for maintaining a ligament secured therein across the knee intra articular joint. The tunnels are referenced by the respective drill guides that are used for drilling intersecting holes from the distal femur and proximal tibia surfaces. Such intersecting holes are for passing a cross pin type mounting device to maintain a ligament end endosteally secured in a tunnel section. A drill guide of the inventors is shown in U. S. Pat. No. 4,901,711 and drill guides of one of the inventors are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,032, and U.S. patent applications in a "Sight Barrel Arthroscopic Instrument", Ser. No. 07/580,172, and in a "Femoral Tunnel Entry Drill Guide", Ser. No. 07/884,387. None of which earlier drill guides involves parallel reference and guide rods. Nor do such other devices provide for adjusting the spacing distance between the rods, by providing fixed and movable guide sleeve mounting blocks that are arranged with the guide rod. The blocks provide for setting a spacing distance between intersecting holes drilled from the knee surface into the straight ligament tunnel, in one drill guide setting.
The drill guides, as set out above, are for forming passages or holes that intersect points along ligament mounting tunnels. Unlike these devices and the present invention, a number of earlier drill guides have been used in knee arthroscopic surgical procedures for drilling, from without the knee, to a locator point within the knee intra articular joint. Examples of such earlier drill guides are shown in patents to Walt, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,958; to Sapega, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,751; to Cho, U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,411; to Hourahane, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,768; to Hourahane, U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,957; and a United Kingdom Patent to Lovell, et al, No. 2,078,528. Additionally, other earlier drilling devices have been developed for drilling tibial and femoral tunnel sections. None of which, however, have provided for drilling or forming intersecting holes or passages to the tunnel sections. Examples of such devices are shown in patents to Odensten, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,780; to Seedhom, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,233; and a European Patent to Seedhom, et al, No. 0,126,520. None of which devices provide a drill guide like that of the present invention for drilling, utilizing a single drill guide setting, a pair of holes to intersect, respectively, the femoral and tibial tunnel sections and for measuring the distance between the intersecting holes.